Portable log sawing machine



Filed March 9, 1935 5 Shets-Sheet l Mmmm @L J, www@ PORTABLE LOG SAWING MACHINE TL E@ Filed March 9, 1935 5 SheetS-Sheel: 2

11. Momma@ PORTABLE LOG S/AWING MACHINE Filed March 9, 1935 3 Sheets-Shee1L Patented pr.

@Whitt IPlEt'llllBlLlE LUG SAW/ING MACHlINlE .lohn E. lvllcllleorl, Wollaston, Mass., assigner to Great Northern Paper Company, Millinocket, Maine, a corporation of Maine Application March 9,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to portable log sawing machines adapted to be moved from place to place to cut logs into short lengths suitable for conversion into paper pulp.

A common method of preparing logs for pulp wood comprises felling the trees wherever they may stand and hauling the long logs either by dragging or by loading on sleds or in any other convenient manner to a so-called yard where the logs are piled and are subsequently sawed, heretofore by hand, into four foot lengths or other suitable lengths for conversion into paper pulp, the short lengths usually being hauled to a stream or landing and oated to the pulp mill. A tract that is being cut for pulp wood may have several log storage yards distributed at locations suitable for the logging operation. Heretofore, it has been the best practice to cut the logs into short lengths by hand. This method, however, is slow unless a large force of men is provided, and is relatively expensive.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a log sawing machine that is arranged to cut the long logs into short lengths suitable for pulp manufacture, the machine being port able and especially adapted for movement over rough terrain and having short Width and small height so that it can be moved between closely spaced trees and ove-r winding logging roads to the log yards and placed in position beside the log piles for sawing, them into the shorter lengths.

A further object of the invention is a portable log sawing machine of the type described, comprising a circular saw, a power plant for driving the saw and the associated mechanism, and feeding devices for advancing the log toward the saw.

The machine of the invention is composed of a plurality of sections arranged in tandem, the sections having log-feeding mechanisms so that long logs can be supported and advanced toward the saw and being articulated so that the machine can be moved freely along winding roads and between closely spaced trees and over unn even ground. The machine also is so arranged as to operate satisfactorily upon the log notwithstanding any small misalignment of its articulated sections, it being appreciated that it is not always practicable to select long reaches of level ground in which to yard the logs and hence the machine must be capable of handling the logs even if the articulated parts are somewhat out of line. Such a machine constitutes an object of the invention.

1935, Serial No. 10,217

(lCl. M3 4l3) A further object of the invention is the provision of a portable sectional log sawing machine, one section containing the saw, the power plant, and a portion of the log advancing mechanism, and a second section being articulated to the rst section and containing a further part of the log advancing mechanism, which mechanism is driven by the power plant of the iirst section and so arranged as to cooperate with the log advancing mechanism of the first section to advance the log to the saw.

Another object is generally to improve the construction and operation of portable log sawing machines.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portable log sawing machine embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the main section of the machine that comprises the saw and the power plant.

Fig. 3 is a plan View of the machine of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail taken along line Il ll of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail taken along line 5 5 of Fig. 2 and illustrating especially the log stop mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail taken along line 6 6 of Fig. 2 and illustrating particularly the friction drive and brake mechanism for controlling the swing movements of the saw.

Fig. 7 is a sectional detail taken along line 'l-'l of Fig. 3 and illustrating particularly the driving mechanism for the log advancing rolls.

Fig. 8 is a sectional detail taken along line 8 3 of Fig. 3 and illustrating an eccentric bushing for controlling the engagement of the friction wheels for swinging the saw.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the trailer sled.

The portable log sawing machine embodying the present invention comprises a saw sled lil and a trailer sled I2. The saw sled, see especially Figs. l, 2 and 3, is composed of a frame or chassis having longitudinal side girders in the form of I beams lll and cross beams lli. The frame is mounted upon skids or runners i8 on which the side beams lll rest. The trailer sled is similarly formed with a frame comprising the longitudinal I beams 20 and cross beams 22 and has skids or runners 2li under the longitudinal beams. The trailer sled at its forward end is provided with a tongue 26 that is pivoted to the similar ends of the side beams 2S and engages a king pin 23 of the saw sled so that the two sleds are flexibly connected together in tandem, or are articulated, and can be drawn freely along winding woods roads and between closely spaced trees and over rough uneven terrain. The saw sled at its forward end is provided with a tongue 30 similar to the tongue 26 by which the connected sleds can be connected to a tractor and drawn from place to place. The saw sled contains the cutoff swing saw, a portion of the apparatus for advancing the logs to the sawing position, the power plant for operating the mechanism and the control means for governing the operation of the mechanism. The trailer sled carries the remaining portion of the log advancingrmechanism and is intended to be spaced from the saw sled by a sufficient distance so that the machine can handle the long logs that are to be cut up into shorter lengths suitable for conversion into pulp. Ordinarily the tongue 26 is of sufficient length to space the two sleds a convenient distance apart, although if the machine is required to operate upon a collection of unusually long logs the tongue can be detached from the trailer sled and the sleds separated a suitable distance.

The log advancing mechanism on the saw sled comprises a series of feed rolls 32 suitably journalled on the frame of the sled and locate-d near the front side of the sled with their axes arranged transversely of the frame. A guide plate 3d extends longitudinally of the saw sled above the inner ends of the rolls, against which the log is adapted to bear during its advancement into cut-o position and while being engaged by the saw. 'Ihe guide plate is supported in position by suitable brackets 36 carried by the transverse beams I6, see especially Fig. '7. The feed rolls 32 are preferably tapered in diameter and have a smaller diameter near the guide plate 34 and a larger diameter near the front edge of the machine. This arrangement provides the rolls with upper log engaging surfaces that slope downwardly toward the guide plate and thereby tend to hold the log engaged by gravity with the guide plate. The rolls are preferably provide-d with driving projections or studs 38 that bite into the log and thus positively engage it for endwise movement.

A sawdust chute in the form of a channel member fill is provided at the sawing position, the chute extending transversely of the sled to receive the sawdust and cause it to be discharged from the rear side of the plate.

A log deck 42 is provided on the other side of the chute 40. Said deck comprises essentially a flat plate, see especially Figs. 2, 3 and 5, inclined to correspond to the inclination of the top portions of the feed rolls and having a series of transverse openings i4 therein through which the upper portions of idler rolls 45 project. Said idler rolls 46 are suitably journalled and are yadapted to receive and support the short length of log that is severed from the longer portions and to permit the log to be moved readily in an endwise direction off the deck. An upstanding guide plate 48 is disposed at the inner ends of the rolls and has the functions of the previously described guide plate 34.

rIhe logs are cut off into the shorter lengths by a swing saw 59 which is fixed to a shaft or arbor 52 journalled in suitable boxes carried by the upper ends of the parallel and normally vertically disposed side arms 54 of a swing frame. Said frame is provided with a pivot shaft 5B intermediate the ends and crosswise of the frame, which shaft is journalled in Ybearings 58, see especially Figs. 4 and 6, carried by the frame of the sled. The saw frame thus can swing or pivot about the cross shaft 5G as an axis to move its saw downwardly and transversely through the log. rIhe saw frame 54 extends below the pivot shaft 56 and is provided with weights 69 which over-balance the overhung weight of the saw and thus tend to maintain the saw constantly in elevated position above and out of engagement with the log, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6.

The s-aw is .driven by a shaft 52 carried by the frame of the machine coaxially with the pivot shaft 56. Said shaft 62 is provided with a driving pulley G4 and the saw shaft 52 is provided with a pulley 6G. A plurality of independent belts 59 disposed in side by side order on the two pulleys serve to transmit power between the drive shaft 62 and the saw. Due to the concentric alignment of the drive shaft with the pivot shaft 56 the swinging of the saw does not affect the driving thereof and neither does the driving of the saw affect the swinging thereof. 'Ihe shaft 62 is driven by a self-contained power plant comprising an internal combustion engine 19 through a clutch 'l2 and a speed reducing gearing '54. The clutch is operated by a manually controlled hand wheel 'FB or the equivalent so that the power plant may be disconnected from the apparatus when desired while maintaining the power plant in operation.

The saw is reciprocated toward and away from the log or, stated more accurately, is moved downwardly through the log, by means of a crank shaft 18, journalled on transverse girders IS of the frame under the saw and having a crank arm 89, see Fig. 3, terminating in a crank pin 82 that is journalled in the lower end of a connecting rod 34, see Figs. 4 and 6. Said connecting rod extends upwardly and is xed to a transverse shaft 86 journalled in boxes 88 carried by the swing frame 54 near the upper end thereof and between the upper end and the pivot shaft 56. The stroke of the crank pin is such as to move the saw from its fully elevated position as shown in full lines Fig. 4, downwardly and below the top log engaging surface of the feed rolls, as shown in the dotted line position of the saw, Fig. 4, sufficiently to cause the saw to cut through any 10g on the rolls.

The crank shaft is rotated by the power plant 10. Said crank shaft is provided with a large gear 90 meshing with a pinion gear 92, see Fig. 3, fixed to a shaft 94 suitably journalled in cross members of the frame and having a large driven friction wheel 96 fixed thereto. A small driving friction wheel 98 is adapted to engage the surface of the cooperating friction wheel 96 and thereby rotate said wheel and the crank shaft. The driving friction wheel 93 is fixed to a shaft IDU that is connected through a universal joint 102 with a secondary drive shaft |04, which shaft IM is driven through sprocket and chain mechanism |06 from the drive shaft 62.

The friction wheel 98 is moved into and away from engagement with the driven shaft by wheel 96 under control of an operative. To this end the shaft |00 adjacent the wheel 98 is journalled in an eccentric bushing, see Fig. 8, that is angularly rotatable in a bearing box H0 and has a laterally outstanding arm H2 by which the bushing can be rotated in the bearing block to move the driving friction wheel 98 into and out of engagement with the cooperating driven wheel 96, the universal joint I 02 permitting such movement.

The rotation of eccentric bushing |08 is accomplished by an operative located at the front side of the machine. A link l lll is pivotally connected at its inner end to the arm H2 of the eccentric bushing and at its outer end to an arm H6 of a control tube l2!! which is located at the front edge of the machine and extends longitudinally thereof and terminates in a vertically extended hand lever E22 disposed in front of the deck t2. Movement of the hand lever from a neutral or mid position thereof inwardly or toward the saw effects the engagement of the friction wheels and the reciprocation of the saw.

When the saw has cut through the log the hand lever is adapted to be pulled backwardly through its neutral position to effect the disengagement of the friction Wheels so that the counterweights @El return the saw to its elevated position. Further movement of th-e hand lever moves it into a braking position Where it conditions brake mechanism to check the return movement of the saw frame and to hold the saw in elevated posiA tion. The brake mechanism, see especially Figs. 3 and 6, comprises a flexible strap 52d which passes about the lower peripheral portion of the friction pulley 95 and has its upper end anchored at |2 to the frame of the machine. The forward end of the strap is fixed to a link i228 that is pivotally connected to an arm |30 of the tube Mtl. Thus as said hand lever is moved away from the saw the brake strap l2@ is brought into frictional en gagement with the driven friction wheel dii, thereby to check the retraction movement of the saw frame and to hold it in elevated position.

The feed rolls 32 are driven by a shaft |32 that is extended lengthwise the battery of rolls and is suitably journalled on the frame of the sled. Each of said rolls has a bevel gear i3d xed thereto which meshes with a smaller gear |36 fixed to said shaft. Said shaft is driven by a cross shaft |38 located at the the rear end of the sled under the power plant. Said cross shaft has a bevel gear itil that meshes with a gear |42 fixed to the roll-driving shaft |32. The cross shaft E33 has a pair of confronting driven friction cones lllt and Mie, respectively, xed thereto. A driving friction cone |158 is located between said cones and is arranged to be moved from a normal neutral position in opposite directions into driving engagement with one and the other of said driven cones. Said driving cone is fixed to a shaft |5tl which is connected through a universal joint |52 with the secondary shaft Hit. The shaft l5@ adjacent said cone M8 is journalled in an eccentric bushing that is` or can be similar to the bushing its of the drive shaft for reciprocating the saw. Thus rotation of the bushing in opposite directions effects the movement of the driving cone M8 alternately into driving engagement with the driven cones tilt and M6. When the driving cone M8 is in driving engagement with the cone it@ the rotation of the feed rolls is such as to advance the log toward the saw. When the driving cone is in driving engagement with the other cone the feed rolls are reversely rotated and the log is moved in the opposite direction.

The driving engagement between the cones is under control of an operative. The eccentric bushing which supports the drive shaft |50 is connected to one end of a link 54, the other end of which is pivotally connected to an arm |56 of a shaft it@ extended longitudinally of the sled and passing loosely through the aforesaid operating tube lil. Said shaft has a hand lever |60 fixed thereto adjacent the handle lf2. By moving the lever |60 outwardly from a neutral position or toward an operative standing beside the sled the driving cone M3 is moved from a neutral position into engagement with the driven co-ne it to advance the log toward the saw. When the lever is moved. away from the operative and into the neutral position the driving cone is operatively disconnected from both driven cones and hence the log feed is idle. When the lever is moved further away from the operative the driving cone is brought into driving engagement with the reverse drive cone itt and the log is retracted away from the saw. An operative standing at the position of thehand levers |22 and |63 thus has full control of the operation of the machine and can advance the log by any desired amount over the deck l2 and cut it off from the remaining portion of the log. Usually, however, the logs are all cut to the same dimensions, usually in four foot lengths, suitable for conversion into pulp wood.

The apparatus is provided with a stop member which functions as a gauge to determine the length of the short logs. Said stop member comprises a bar 52, see especially Figs. 2, 3 and 5, which is located at the end of the deck and is pivoted at to the rear side edge of the` sled and can be raised about its pivot by the operative to the position illustrated in Fig. 5 where the forward end thereof is disposed in the path of advance of the log to limit the advance thereof and thereby define the length of the section to be severed from the body of the log. The stop member can also be lowered sufficiently to permit the severed short section of log to be withdrawn over it and removed from the saw deck.

The raising and lowering of the stop member is effected by a foot pedal |66. Said pedal is fixed to a shaft |68 journalled on the front girder l!! of the sled and having a rearwardly extended arm i5? the end of which is pivotally connected through a link |73 to the stop member |52. Thus the depression of the pedal serves to elevate the stop member and the weight of the stop member serves to drop the member downwardly when pressure on the pedal is relieved. The weight of' the stop member is approximately, although not entirely, counterbalanced by a counter-balancing lever llt pivoted to a transverse member of the frame and pivotally connected at one end through a link il@ with the stop member. The other end of the lever has a weight |16 thereon which acts through the lever and link to oppose, although not completely, the weight of the stop member. Thus the labor of elevating the stop member is reduced. The weight of the stop arm normally maintains the pedal and balance lever |l2 in elevated position so as to provide good clearance above the ground when the sled is being moved about.

The trailer sled l2 is provided with a set of feed rolls l'l similar or identical with the feed rolls 32 and journalled on the frame of the sled. A guide plate |80 similar to the guide plate 3d is located above the inner ends of the feed rolls and is suitably supported on the frame of the sled. The feed rolls are driven at equal speeds through gearing connecting them with a shaft |82 that is extended lengthwise of the sled below and behind the plate |80. Said shaft |82 has a geared connection with and is driven by a shaft |84, see especially Fig. 9, that is supported crosswise of the sled and extends beyond the rear side thereof. Said shaft is driven from the cross shaft |38 of the saw sled, the shafts having equal diameter sprocket wheels |86 and |88, respectively, that is encircled by a driving chain |90, see especially Fig. l, so that the feed rolls of both sleds are driven in the same direction at equal speeds. The length of the chain i90 can be extended at will by inserting additional links so that the spacing between the two sleds may be made anything desired. If there is a relatively great spacing between the two sleds as may be desirable for operation upon exceptionally long logs, it may be desirable to position a suitable support, not necessary to illustrate, carrying idler rolls between the two sleds so as to prevent having a long unsupported overhanging length of pole. It is not necessary to align the two sleds accurately for handling the logs as the trailer sled can be misaligned moderately with respect to the saw sled and yet assist in advancing the log. Precise alignment of the feeding faces of all the feed rolls of the two sleds is not necessary. For some purposes, such as when handling light logs, it is not necessary to drive the trailer sled rolls |18, as the rolls can be freely rotatable idler rolls.

Thus it will be apparent that I have provided a portable log sawing machine suitable for the conversion of long logs into pulp wood dimensions, which machine can be drawn along the usual winding, narrow and rough logging roads and over rough ground from one yard to another and positioned beside the log pilesl to cut the logs into pulp wood in a very satisfactory manner. A crew of five men, two at the log pile transferring logs to the machine, one controlling the operation of the machine, and two removing the sections of logs from the machine and piling them, can readily produce fifty cords of pulp wood a day.

I claim:

l. A portable log sawing machine comprising log supporting saw and trailer sleds having an articulated connection between them, a swing saw and a power plant on said saw sled, said saw being located near the free end of said saw sled, log advancing means on both sleds and both operative on the same log for advancing it to said saw, and means interconnecting said sleds for operating said log advancing means of both sleds conjointly.

2. A portable log sawing machine comprising relatively long and narrow saw and trailer sleds having means connecting them flexibly and detachably in tandem, a swing saw and a power plant on said saw sled, said saw being located near the free end of said saw sled, both sleds having log advancing means operative upon the same log to pass it from one section to another and to advance it to said saw, and means establishing a driving connection between the log advancing means of said sleds, the driving connection means being flexible to permit a small amount of longitudinal misalignment between said sleds while maintaining an operative driving connection therebetween.

3. A portable log sawing machine comprising a relatively long and narrow saw sled, a swing saw at one end of said sled mounted for swinging movement transversely of the sled, a series of log conveyor rolls extended lengthwise of the sled adjacent one long side thereof, a roll driving shaft extended lengthwise of and having driving connections with said rolls, a drive shaft extended lengthwise of the sled adjacent the other long side thereof and having at one end a driving connection with said saw, a power plant located at the end of the sled opposite said saw approximately in line and having a driving connection with the other end of said drive shaft, a feed shaft extended lengthwise of the sled and located between said drive shaft and roll driving shaft and having a driven connection with said drive shaft, disengageable driving connections between said feed shaft and said roll driving shaft and between said feed shaft and the swing of said swing saw, a cross shaft located on said saw sled transversely thereof at the end having said power plant, a driving connection between said cross shaft and said roll driving shaft, a trailer sled having a series of log conveyor rolls thereon, a Cross shaft on said trailer sled for driving said rolls, and flexible means for establishing a detachable driving connection between said cross shafts.

JOHN E. MCLEOD. 

